[JURIST] The Office of Special Counsel (OSC) [official website] has opened an investigation into whether executive branch employees have improperly engaged in political activity in violation of the Hatch Act [OSC materials], an OSC spokesperson said Tuesday. The Hatch Act prohibits the use of government resources for political purposes, and the OSC has expanded current investigations into a broader probe of "illegal political activities across the executive branch." The new, expanded probe builds on two current investigations: whether politics played an improper role in the 2006 firing of a US Attorney, and whether a presentation [PDF slides] by an aide to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove on strategies to aid 2008 Republican candidates given to political appointees at the General Services Administration [official website] in January was improper.

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